dirty window

dirt caked in swirling, smattering
patterns on the outside of the window pane
give this particular sunset over yellow
winter fields the look of a Van Gogh.
Catching the sun's rays, those particles
become part of the scene by partially
obscuring it, robbing it of depth, and presenting
it in a flat plane bordered on four sides
by the thick frame.

In this way, the unwashed window
shows real artistic sensibility:
filtering the raw, impossibly rich,
overwhelming, and overlooked
beauty of nature and rendering
it into something finite for the eye to appreciate.